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Huawei launches HarmonyOS for PCs to rival Windows and macOS in the desktop market
(alternativeto.net)
I do hope they open source the whole thing at some point.
this post was submitted on 13 May 2025
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Why even bother?
They should just be contributing to a free software distribution if we want it to benefit us.
I mean the core of HarmonyOS is open source already https://www.openharmony.cn/
It's understandable why they want to have control over the full hardware and software stack. You get a lot of benefits from optimizing the software specifically for the hardware you have. This also allows them to make the software leaner avoiding bloat and legacy cruft.
Any similarity to Apple is purely coincidental.
Or thanks, we already have the best alternatives to macOS and Windows that money cannot buy: https://distrowatch.com/
The difference is, that HarmonyOS is free to use, not so Windows or MacOS., when we excepted WindowsX, something like an de-microsofted Windows, which also is free to use. Not all people can or want to use Linux, eg.for accessbility, where Linux is far way behind Windows or MacOS. Well, the question is if a Chinese OS is more private than a US OS, this isn't so clear currently, but alternatives and competition is always good for the user.
What is that windowsX? A real windows with no licence and no licence check?
It's only the debloated basic OS as is, without any Windows services, if you want some, like updates, UWPs and so, you must add it by hand. It's all described in the homepage. Another alternative is ReactOS. ReactOS™ is an Open Source effort to develop a quality operating system that is compatible with applications and drivers written for the Microsoft® Windows™ NT family of operating systems- There is also ReviOS, ReviOS aspires to re-create what Windows as an operating system should have been - easy and simple (also FOSS). All other OS are Linux, Unix or BSD distros, not natively compatible with Windows apps.
If all those efforts for windows went to Linux instead...
Yes, certainly, but a lot of users can't use Linux for several reasons.
- certain Professionals
- Users which need to use dedicated Companysoft for Work
- Gamers
- Impaired and Blind People, because of an crappy support on Linux.
Dual boot can be an solution, but also don't make sense if the user have to use mostly Windows., with these the only solution is an OS compatible without the MS crap, as named before. Linux is certainly better in much aspects as Windows, but by far not in all.
Looks like it's still android, which is still Linux.
Android's kernel is based on Linux yes but its heavily modified and incompatible. Simplest Linux app cant run on Android and vise versa.
Android is not Linux
Similarly, HarmonyOS has diverged from Android to the point of not being compatible either. It's really its own thing now.
Compatibility says nothing, eveb Kinux distros not always compatible with each other. Android is an (not so heavy) modified distro, but in it's stock version full of Google APIs and tracking crap. Android as such is FOSS and forkeable, in rooted phones it can be changed to de.googled Android and also to some dedicated Linux distros (Ubuntu, Linage and some others).
Guess I'll say that next time I have a conversation like https://lemmy.ml/post/29976729/18561606 and avoid the downvotes.
i think of it as another distro, but with a really good eco system like redhat or ubuntu.
Asia is really into macOS GUI in general.
Well, windows UI is historically terrible, while apple at least used to pay attention to the UI/UX. I wouldn't blame people preferring a window manager which doesn't randomly steal focus.
Yeah, but they tend to simply copy macOS/iOS. Just a note that there are plenty more of OS out there and windows managers, starting with Linux.
If ppl bought chrome Os, they can use Harmony Os